Police hunting a man in connection with the murder of a 21-year-old man from Kingsbury say their suspect now features on Britain’s ‘most wanted’ list and could be hiding in the Netherlands.
Detectives issued a European arrest warrant for Shane O’Brien, 27, of Ladbroke Grove days after Josh Hanson died after he was stabbed in the neck in a brutal attack inside the RE bar in Eastcote on October 11 last year.
Police are offering a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and proescution of O’Brien, whose disappearance shortly after Mr Hanson’s death prompted a Europe-wide man hunt.
He has now been added to the Most Wanted Fugitives list by Crimestoppers and the National Crime Agency (NCA) under Operation Return, which aims to bring suspects back to the UK to face justice.
The Dutch authorities are co-operating with the NCA’s efforts to track down O’Brien.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, from the Met’s homicide and major crime command, said: “We believe O’Brien could be in the Netherlands, although our enquiries continue in several other European countries at this stage.
“We hope the launch of this new Crimestoppers and NCA appeal will raise awareness and lead to his prompt arrest.”
O’Brien will also be featured on the Dutch version of Crimewatch tonight in a bid to alert viewers.
He is described as a white man, 6ft tall, with grey eyes and short dark brown hair. He has a tattoo on his back saying ‘Shannon 15-04-06’ and may use the name Troy O’Brien.
Tracy Hanson, mother of Josh Hanson told Brent & Kilburn Times in January of her family’s determination to bring the person responsible for her son’s death to justice.
Ms Hanson also appealed for anyone with any information as to the whereabouts of O’Brien to come forward, adding: “Hopefully someone who knows something will come forward.
“No matter how irrelevant or how long they have had this information if they are asking themselves should they say something that means they should.”
Josh’s devastated family and friends have taken their bid to assist police in their search for O’Brien worldwide via social media campaigns which have garnered more than 26,000 followers.
Detectives arrested a 24-year-old man and a 29-year-old man- who were on an inbound flight to the UK- on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and assisting an offender on Wednesday October 28 last year.
Both were taken to a London police station and bailed pending further enquiries and are next due to return on a date in late March.
Anyone with information about the murder or O’Brien’s whereabouts is urged to call the incident room on 020 8785 8099 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.
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